Estocada culture
Estocada culture or '''Estocadism '''is a term to describe the culture present in Sceafarice and the Cascyst Fletta. It is derived from the prehistoric Clansmen religious customs and culture that was steeped in constant warfare and adapted somewhat to mesh with the more European organization of society practised by the early colonial powers, such as Thunder Bay and the Yaverdi Noicha. While it originally coexisted with a number of religions, Estocada culture has come to be so completely associated with a certain lifestyle that it may be considered a sort of religion in and of itself. As agnosticism, deism and atheism are almost universal in Sceafarice and the Fletta, Estocada culture has come to function in the same purpose as a state religion in Sceafarice and to some extent, the DMR. It is defined by a strict code of duelling and characterized by an equally strict dress and conduct code. Definition There is some debate, particularly amongst Guardian scholars, as to precisely how to categorize Estocada culture as a concept. There is some support for adopting the term "Estocadism" and recognizing it as a religion as it draws its roots from the Clansmen's religious beliefs. Support for this comes from the lack of Estocada culture doctrine's involvement in Sceafaricenian or Drubyetskian knowledge, intellectual achievement or art. However, as Estocada culture does not have any kind of theology directly associated with it, it is not internationally recognized as a religion. History Estocada culture has no specific founder and no specific founding date. Its origins lie in the prehistoric Clansmen that lived on the Nordamericanske continent before European colonists began to migrate. The Clans were varied between polytheistic and deistic, but they shared a common creation story and common beliefs. The core tenant of the Clan faith was that the god Aretada created the world and gave life by inserting his soul into the planet. Because every Clansman contained a portion of Aretada's soul, it was considered disgraceful to allow the body to age and deteriorate. The fastest way for a Clansman to take his/her body from pristine condition to death was to die in battle, so the Clans fought each other constantly. However, it was also seen as an insult to Aretada to disassemble the body, so the battles were fought with stabbing weapons exclusively to avoid accidently hacking off a limb. The foundations of the Thunder Bay Republic in 278, the Yaverdi Noicha in 310 and Appalakia in 336 introduced European influences to the continent, although the Atlantic was still virtually impossible to cross quickly and reliably. The peaceful interaction of the Clans with these factions was extremely limited, as the European factions did not have the same population control that the Clans did and instead put the Clansmen to the sword to expand quickly. In 425, Thunder Bay ran into stiff resistance from a coalition of Clans who saw their culture being threatened. An expansive Yaverdi Noicha to the east and discontent amongst part of the overcrowded population allowed this coalition to support open rebellion. In 427, the nation of Drubyetski was formed, name after the mountain range these Clans hailed from. The immense support the Clans lent to the Drubyetskian rebels enabled them to integrate with the European descendants and spread some of its culture. Over the next hundred years, Drubyetskian hegemony extended into what is now Sceafarice, where a number of Clans were experiencing the same threats from powers such as Appalachia and Tuscaloosa. At the same time, an influx of European descendants unsatisfied with their rulers immigrated into Drubyetskian and Sceafaricenian land. Expanding beyond the government's means, it was typically up to the citizens to keep order themselves. As the population grew, the citizens became more and more draconian. The heavy Clan influence, meanwhile, ensured that duelling became a popular sport and also a means to settle conflicts. The Estocada Kod (Thrust Code) was formed around this time as a standard guideline for duelling practice. By the 7th century, the citizens of Sceafarice were reasonable uniform in dress and in duelling practice and had virtually eliminated the rest by public execution. Threats of reconquest by Thunder Bay led the Drubyetskians to raise a military formed by the best of the duellists and the military uniforms were essentially a thicker version of what the Sceafaricenians had been wearing without the variations in colour. By the end of the 7th century, immigration in Drubyetski and Sceafarice had all but ceased and Sceafaricenian changes to the duelling doctrine were making their way back to Drubyetski. In 704, the first Estocada "Surile" or festival were held in the desert near the Sudamini'li Drubyetski Montangora Geto. In 710, the first tournament based on Estocada duelling was held in Cascyst. While the Estocada Kod in theory only dictated duelling practices, various communities began tacking on various addendums to substitute for laws. Over time and after some cooperation behind villages, the Kod was again standardized, but not written down, allowing for some varying interpretations in some places. Still, the Kod would achieve stability at this point and has changed little since. Doctrines Duelling Duelling is the most significant portion of Estocadism. Every person born into an Estocada society will fight a duel at least one in their lifetime and most will fight dozens. The Estocada Kod dictates the laws of duelling and is strictly adhered to by anyone who survives a duel in an Estocada location. Duelling typically takes place for one three reasons: to solve grievances, for death or for sport. Duels in Estocada tradition are always fought with one-handed swords and never with a shield. They may be fought either until satisfaction or until one falls. Satisfaction is typically only used in duels of sport at an Estocada Surile. Most often, duels will be fought to the first wound; although a duel to the first fall will not technically conclude until the hip or shoulder of the wounded touches the ground, few duellists will continue the fight after being wounded unless the wound is particularly minor. As a name translating to "thrust culture" might imply, the duels focus almost entirely on stabbing. Although slashes and cuts are frequently used as feints, it is considered dishonourable to slash one's opponent. Proper Estocada duelling will end in an abdominal stab wound for the loser. Ideally, unless otherwise intended, such wounds are not fatal. A skilled Estocada duellist will be able to place his/her sword between the folds of the small intestine. This is easier to do against natives of an Estocada land as their intestinal structure tends to be shorter and more predictable. Sceafaricenians and Drubyetskians in particular will begin learning proper duelling techniques as earlier as eight years old and will begin duelling at fifteen or sixteen. Anatomy, sword control and discipline are stressed. It is considered crucial that Estocada adherents are able to know exactly where vital organs are and to be able to split narrow gaps between them to avoid inadvertently killing their opponent with sepsis. Discipline is also crucial. Duellists have to remain completely still when receiving a stab wound from another duellist; flinching or attempting to block an attack too late is likely cause their opponents' sword to hit a vital organ. Comprene'um Understanding, or comprene'um, is the core tenant in regard to Estocadist philosophy. A complete state of comprene'um is considered unattainable, but a strong sense of comprene'um is considered desirable and in many places, the purpose of life. This includes understanding of the mind and the body, with the emphasis on the complexity that is the mind. Approaches on how to achieve comprene'um varies. In the Cascyst Fletta, it is common to experience as many opposite situations and emotions as possible. Love is meant to be tempered with hatred, success with failure, health with pain and so on. The cycle of life to the Flettan Estocadist begins with the carefree youth, moves to the careful adult and ends with a reflective death to clear a way for another life of understanding. Sceafaricenians tend to be less concerned with actively seeking particular experiences and instead attempt to learn as much as possible from every experience. The only emotion considered crucial to understand for the Sceafaricenian Estocadist is pain, because a complete understanding of pain is considered to make every other experience easier to appreciate in full. This is used as the rationale for training the youth in duelling so early in Sceafarice. However, Sceafaricenians tend to lean toward an Epicureanist approach to life and use their experience with pain to contrast with more pleasant experiences to achieve greater happiness. The idea of comprene'um leads in turn to a sort of resignation to fate, particularly in the Fletta. Because the Flettans will attempt to draw as many opposite emotions and experiences from a single situation as possible, they tend to be somewhat reluctant to interfere with situations that arises. This is less prominent for Sceafaricenians, who will seek to change a situation if their way of life is under any kind of threat at all and mock the Flettans for requiring more provocation. On an individual level, this resignation is reflected in the typical Estocadist's iron discipline; on a battlefield, Estocadists are notoriously difficult to shatter and easily accept death in battle or on a Surile ground. They do tend to suffer from an a lack of desire to solve problems as opposed to experiencing a crisis. Death Estocadists typically do not believe in knowledge of the afterlife. Instead, death is seen as a mere exit to life and the final opportunity to fully understand human nature and themselves. While they do not believe in afterlife ramifications, it is considered a dishonour to die by any means other than a puncture wound below the neck in battle. The pain of a long death by a stab wound is considered to be necessary to best understand the full extent of human emotion that can not be perfectly emulated through mere wounds. Left over from ancient Clan tradition is the concept of a complete body at death to be favourable. Estocadists believe the brain can best function with a complete body, and that losing a limb, having bones break or having organs thrown into disarray will force the brain to waste thought power on comprehending this new state of affairs. Logically, this means that death through blunt trauma or through being hacked apart means that the brain cannot properly function well enough to gain understanding in death. A piercing wound, however, be it from a sword, a spear or a projectile, is believed to give wounds that are easily for the brain to deal with, allowing for reflection upon dying. While it is considered a disgrace to be deprived of a "clean" mortal wound, it is considered far more dishonourable to deny an Estocadist such a wound. Decapitations are moderately different; Estocadists who allows their heads to be taken off are considered to be stains on the land, although it is also the worst offence to decapitate an Estocadist. However, decapitations are also used as a punishment for breaking the Estocada Kod, particularly on the battlefield; if the decapitation is considered a justified punishment, whoever performed is is exempted of dishonour. Controversies